City Hunting For Its History Old Photographs, Data Sought For New Smyrna List, Museum

December 6, 1985|By Pat LaMee of The Sentinel Staff

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Longtime residents have an opportunity to pull out their old photographs and jog their memories to help the Interim Historic Preservation Commission identify old buildings and sites that are of historic significance.

One of the immediate goals of the fledgling commission is to hire consultants to survey the city to find buildings and sites that were in use prior to 1925. Another is to establish a museum complete with artifacts, old maps and documents, photographs and other memorabilia from the city's earliest days.

''We've hit a spark,'' said Clay Henderson, commission chairman. ''We're on a roll and we need community involvement to put our program together.''

Some residents already are gathering information from their parents and grandparents while others are calling or visiting Henderson's law office on Third Avenue with information and documents.

Local historic sites should be on the state's Master Site file but that record is incomplete, said Henderson. ''It's embarrassing that so few items from southeast Volusia are recorded with the state.''

The only items in the state file are a few buildings on Lytle Avenue, the Woman's Club on Magnolia Street and Norwood's Restaurant on Third Avenue, he said.

The Woman's Club, built in the early 1920s also is certified for the National Register, Henderson said. ''After the survey, I am sure we will have at least 50 historic sites on our inventory plus a number of archeological areas,'' he said.

Another historical structure Henderson cites is the building on the southeast corner of Palmetto Street at Canal Street, which now houses Southern Trends, a business owned by Steve and Glen Jones. The city hall was housed there in the 1930s, Henderson said.

Financed initially by a $5,000 federal grant approved by the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, the seven-member commission is prepared to move forward in its goals.

In addition to the survey and museum, the commission hopes to have New Smyrna Beach become the first city in the state to be certified as a historic preservation community.

This city has a rich, yet largely unsurveyed history dating back to the Turnbull Colony in 1768, when it was the largest single English colonial attempt in North America, according to commission records.

Historic commission members will help draft ordinances designed to protect and preserve artifacts and will submit their proposals to the city commission for review and action. They also plan to establish a historic conservation zone.

Once the zone is designated, no buildings or historical sites can be destroyed or significantly altered without city approval, Henderson said.

Commissioners also will help develop the historical element in the city's comprehensive development plan.